My Opinion on RSS Readers

RSS Readers

By: Melissa Boyer

   

An RSS Reader or news aggregator, in my own words, is either an online or downloaded program that helps you keep up on your favorite websites.  You can subscribe to a website and check this program everyday and it will let you know what is posted each day. These are most commonly used to follow blogs. Instead of going to each different website you just check your RSS Reader.

The technical definition of an RSS(Really Simple Syndication) reader according to ProgrammerWorld.net is a program that continuously checks websites for updated content.  The reader uses XML (eXtensible Markup Language) code in the browser.  The HUD website stated that the feed you receive contains headlines, summaries and links to full news stories or blogs.  What you must do first is subscribe to an RSS reader.  They can be either web-based, like google reader, or a small program that you can download, like Feed Demon.  Once you have done that you just have to subscribe to the blog or website that you would like to follow.  To subscribe you go to the website and copy the URL and paste it in the ‘Add New Channel’ area in the feeder. Some readers have an easier option that shows up in the address bar.

I really did not know what to expect when I used a reader.  I read the comments on facebook and on the blogs to give me some ideas.  They pretty much put me in the direction of what program to use.  I wanted to use Google Reader because I have used other google items and already have an account.  I decided to download Feed Demon because someone said that you can link it to your google reader to easily follow the same websites.  I did not know what to expect from there.  

Comparing the two I think that I like Google Reader better.  I found it more user friendly.  The set ups were just about the same but I like that when you click on the blog that Google Reader brings up a new window.  I tried the same thing in Feed Demon and it opened up the blog in the same window and I think my computer had some trouble with that.  I tried to use it to post on the class blogs and somehow my comment was not posted so I had to do it again.

One problem I felt that I had was trying to find good sites to follow.  Since I am a math teacher I really wanted to follow some cool math blogs.  I really did not find many out there.  I used the search item in my google reader to do this. It came up with maybe 10 and most were only updated every month or two.  I went out and googled “math blogs” and found more that way but for some reason I couldn’t subscribe to one. I don’t remember what the problem was.  I tried to copy and paste the url and it did not do anything.  Luckily I found three that looked like they were updated every week or two.  I thought that I had found a fourth but it turned out not to be a real math blog.

I then had the idea to follow some educational technology blogs.  It did not have a long list either.  So I subscribed to two of them.  The other sites that I subscribed to were news and entertainment sites.  

One blog that I have found that I like is “Wild About Math Bloggers.”  This site updates with some cool problems and news about people that like math.  Yesterday there was a link to an article about a girl named Vi Hart.  She has put up some videos on Youtube that talk about some patterns that you see in math that she explains using her doodles.  The article said that her videos are popular with teenage girls.  

I found two educational technology blogs that I have found interesting.  One is by Bill Mackenty, who is an instructional designer at a school district in New York that has a 1:1 ratio of students to computers.  He talked a lot about how to integrate technology into your classroom.  The other site is “The Power of Educational Technology” written by Liz B. Davis who works at an all boys school in Boston, Massachusetts.  She seems to blog more about technology in general and not just technology in the classroom.

The use I see of this in education is mainly for teachers.  The math sites that I followed gave me some good ideas for problems to use in class.  I think some education sites could give you good ideas to use in the classroom.  I see this replacing the educational magazines that we subscribe to.  We can catch up on the new educational news for free on our computer.  This would be real easy to show any teacher or administrator to use.

One use I see for students is in English class to follow a current author.  They could subscribe to an author they are currently reading and put some of that information in their book report.  Another idea I had was that in any class if you have the students blog about a specific question they can use it like we are.  They could subscribe to each classmates blog and comment on it through their RSS reader.  Also in my math class I could have the students solve one problem a week from a math blogging site of their choice.  Although since I have not seen too many I am not sure how good this idea is.  

All in all I think that this is a helpful invention for someone who likes to read several website everyday.  I personally am not a person who does this.  I find the programs rather overwhelming.  There is so much there to read.  I think I need to figure out how to delete the blogs that I have read and that may help.  It has given me a chance to look for some different sites that I have never seen before.  I just think, for me, it is better to just follow a couple of sites rather than ten or more.